The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards warned his men were 'on the cusp of a full-scale confrontation with the enemy,' the Fars news agency reported.

Major General Hossein Salami, named head of the force last month, added: 'This moment in history, because the enemy has stepped into the field of confrontation with us with all the possible capacity, is the most decisive moment of the Islamic revolution.'

The United States has sent further military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region.

Major General Hossein Salami, pictured, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said his men 'were on the cusp of a full-scale confrontation with the enemy'

As a result of the increased tension, America has ordered all of its 'non-emergency government employees' to leave Iraq immediately amid escalating tensions with Iran.

The U.S. State Department ordered the pullout of the employees from both the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, the embassy said in a statement.

'Normal visa services at both posts will be temporarily suspended,' it said, recommending those affected depart as soon as possible. It was unclear how many staff would leave.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military reaffirmed concerns about possible imminent threats from Iran to its troops in Iraq, although a senior British commander cast doubt on that and Tehran has called it 'psychological warfare.'

It comes against the backdrop of tinderbox relations between Tehran and America and as tensions escalated further with the sabotage of four tankers off the coast of the UAE on Sunday - an act US officials initially suspected of being carried out by Iran or its proxies.

Yesterday, Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed to have carried out drone attacks on key Saudi Arabian oil installations with the kingdom calling it a 'terrorist act'.

Amid an escalating war of words, US President Donald Trump has said Tehran would 'suffer greatly' if it enraged Washington while Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last night that enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels would not be a difficult task for the country.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad (pictured) has ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff on Wednesday to leave Iraq immediately amid escalating tensions with Iran. Washington did not publicly provide any evidence to back up claims of an increased threat from Tehran

Amid an increasing war or words, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured yesterday) claimed that enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels would not be a difficult task for the country - the latest threats from Tehran as tensions roil the region amid the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments late Tuesday came after Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a coordinated drone attack on a critical oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. A satellite image (pictured) obtained by AP shows one of the two pumping stations attacked by the drones apparently intact

In his same speech last night, Khamenei tempered his veiled threat by insisting that 'no one is seeking war'.

A senior Iranian official said today that Tehran was ready for all scenarios from 'confrontation to diplomacy' but the United States could not afford another war in the Middle East.

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Any conflict in the region will have 'unimaginable consequences,' the official told Reuters.

Those comments came after Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a coordinated drone attack on a critical oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

A satellite image obtained by The Associated Press shows one of the two pumping stations attacked by the drones apparently intact.

This morning Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said forces of the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, killed 97 Houthi forces and captured 120 in the governorate of Al-Dhalea.

The drone assault is just the latest incident in the Mideast to shake global energy markets, as authorities allege oil tankers anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates were targeted by sabotage. Benchmark Brent crude prices remained around $71 a barrel in early trading Wednesday.

The United States also is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers into the region in response to the still-unspecified Iran threat, further ramping up tensions a year after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

Fears of all-out conflict in the region jumped this week amid rumours that President Trump was about to deploy 120,000 troops to the region, though he later slapped these down.

Norwegian oil tanker Andrea Victory, one of four ships sabotaged on Sunday off the UAE, is pictured with a large dent in its stern

Meanwhile, Germany has halted its training of soldiers in Iraq, a defence ministry spokesman.

Defence ministry spokesman Jens Flosdorff added that there was 'generally heightened alert, awareness' for soldiers currently operating in the region.

Flosdorff said training may well resume in the next days and that there was 'no concrete threat' at the moment.

Germany has about 160 soldiers deployed in Iraq, including 60 in Taji, to the north of Baghdad, and 100 in Erbil, in Kurdish-controlled territory.

The Dutch government has also revealed it is suspending a mission in Iraq that provides assistance to local authorities due to a security threat.

Dutch military personal help train Iraqi forces in Erbil, northern Iraq, along with other foreign troops. The report gave no details about the nature of the threat.

Speaking Tuesday night in Tehran at an iftar, the traditional dinner Muslims have when breaking their daylong fast during the holy month of Ramadan, Khamenei's reported comments first focused on him downplaying the chances of a wider conflict in the Mideast with America.

He reportedly told senior officials that his country won't negotiate with the United States, calling such talks 'poison.' But he also said, 'Neither we, nor them is seeking war. They know that it is not to their benefit.'

British general undermines US claims of increased threat from Iran amid military buildup in Middle East and accusations Tehran is behind attacks on tankers and pipelines

Major General Chris Ghika, deputy commander of anti-ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, said he sees no increased Iranian threat

A British commander of anti-ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria has seen 'no increased threat' from Iran despite the US insisting the country is behind attacks on its allies.

Major General Chris Ghika, deputy commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters that he was monitoring Iran and its proxy forces but had seen no reason to adjust his stance towards them.

Ghika's remarks seemed to be at odds with US claims that Iran and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels were behind attacks on two Saudi oil tankers and pumping stations.

There are fears that America is squaring up for direct conflict with Iran after two carrier groups were deployed to the Arabian Gulf.

Ghika denied that his remarks were out of step with Washington, though US Central Command later issued a rare rebuke to an allied military officer.

The general's remarks 'run counter to the identified credible threats', a spokesman said, adding: 'As a result, (the coalition) is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq.'

Fears of all-out conflict jumped this week amid rumours that President Trump was about to deploy 120,000 troops to the region, though he later slapped these down.

'Would I do that? Absolutely,' he said. 'But we have not planned for that. Hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that.

'If we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that.'

Tensions began building on Sunday when four oil tankers - including two belonging to America's ally Saudi Arabia - were apparently sabotaged off the UAE coast.

U.S. investigators were asked to get involved and subsequently blamed Iran and its allies, with divers saying it appeared magnetic explosives were used.

That sparked a furious exchange of words between the US and Iran, with a key adviser to Iranian president Rouhani warning of a looming conflict.

He also mocked Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton, saying: 'That's what happens when you listen to the mustache.'

Tensions heightened further Tuesday after two pumping stations on a major Saudi oil pipeline were attacked by explosive-laden drones, halting the flow of crude along it.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said attacks on the pipeline from the oil-rich Eastern Province to the Red Sea took place early yesterday morning, and called it 'an act of terrorism' that targeted global oil supplies.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels took responsibility for the attack, and said it was carried out using explosive-laden drones.

The Houthis are fighting against Saudi-backed forces in Yemen's civil war, which has been raging since 2015.

But both sides today tried to calm the situation. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said there 'won't be any war' while U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the U.S. 'fundamentally does not seek any war'.

In Wednesday's edition, the state-run IRAN newspaper carried his comments on the nuclear program, his first since Iran announced it would begin backing away from the accord itself.

Tehran is threatening to resume higher enrichment in 60 days if no new nuclear deal is in place, beyond the 3.67% permitted by the current deal between Tehran and world powers.

Iranian officials have said that they could reach 20% enrichment within four days. Though Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, scientists say the time needed to reach the 90% threshold for weapons-grade uranium is halved once uranium is enriched to around 20%.

'Achieving 20% enrichment is the most difficult part,' Khamenei said, according to the newspaper. 'The next steps are easier than this step.'

It was a telling remark from the supreme leader - Iran is not known to have enriched beyond 20% previously and it's unclear how far Tehran is willing to go in this process. Khamenei has final say on all matters of state in Iran.

Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are at war with Saudi Arabia and are believed by the West to receive weapons from Iran, said earlier Tuesday that they launched seven drones targeting vital Saudi installations. That included two pumping stations along its critical East-West Pipeline, which can carry nearly 5 million barrels of crude a day to the Red Sea.

A. Michel, one of the tankers damaged, is pictured anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday

Spain has temporarily pulled one of its frigates, the Mendez Nunez (centre front) that's part of a U.S.-led combat fleet from near the Persian Gulf because of mounting U.S.-Iran tensions

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said attacks on the pipeline (file picture) from the oil-rich Eastern Province to the Red Sea took place early this morning and called it 'an act of terrorism' that targeted global oil supplies

Saudi Aramco, the government-controlled oil company, said that as a precaution, it temporarily shut down the pipeline and contained a fire, which caused minor damage to one pumping station. It added that Saudi Aramco's oil and gas supplies were not affected.

An image from San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc. that the AP examined on Wednesday shows Saudi Aramco's Pumping Station No. 8 outside of the town of al-Duadmi, 330 kilometers (205 miles) west of the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

The photo, taken Tuesday after the attack, shows two black marks near where the East-West Pipeline passes by the facility. Those marks weren't there in images taken Monday. The facility otherwise appeared intact, corroborating in part Saudi Arabia's earlier comments. The website TankerTrackers.com, whose analysts monitor oil sales on the seas, first reported about the black marks.

Details around alleged acts of sabotage to four oil tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, off the coast of the UAE's port of Fujairah remain unclear. Satellite images obtained Tuesday by the AP from Colorado-based Maxar Technologies showed no visible damage to the vessels, and Gulf officials have refused to say who they suspected was responsible.

The MT Andrea Victory, one of the alleged targets, sustained a hole in its hull just above its waterline from 'an unknown object,' its owner Thome Ship Management said in a statement. Images of the Norwegian ship, which the company said was 'not in any danger of sinking,' showed damage similar to what the firm described.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, has said the other three showed damages as well.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, said Wednesday that attacks on two of its tankers and a major pipeline targeted the security of global oil supplies.

Drone attacks claimed by Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels shut down one of the kingdom's main oil pipelines on Tuesday, further ratcheting up Gulf tensions after the mysterious sabotage of four ships, two of them Saudi tankers, on Sunday.

'The cabinet affirms that these acts of terrorism and sabotage ... do not only target the kingdom but also the security of world oil supplies and the global economy,' it said after a meeting chaired by King Salman in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Tuesday evening.

An Emirati official said three Western countries - the US, France and Norway - would be part of an investigation into the ship attacks along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

In Baghdad, the U.S. Embassy published its order telling all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country. It comes after Washington last week said it had detected new and urgent threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region targeting Americans and American interests.

That contradicts what British Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, a senior officer in the U.S.-backed coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said Tuesday, insisting 'there's been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria.'

Later, in a rare public rebuttal of an allied military officer, U.S. Central Command said Ghika's remarks 'run counter to the identified credible threats' from Iranian-backed forces in the Mideast. In a written statement, Central Command said the coalition in Baghdad has increased the alert level for all service members in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, British Embassy staff in Baghdad are said to be 'operating as normal' and there are 'no plans' to withdraw them.

U.S. pressures Baghdad over Iran-backed militias

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's surprise visit to Baghdad this month came after U.S. intelligence showed Iran-backed Shi'ite militias positioning rockets near bases housing U.S. forces, according to two Iraqi security sources.

He told Iraq's top brass to keep the militias, which are expanding their power in Iraq and now form part of its security apparatus, in check, the sources said. If not, the U.S. would respond with force.

As tensions between Washington and Tehran increase, Iraq finds itself caught between neighbouring Iran, whose regional influence has grown in recent years, and the United States.

'The message from the Americans was clear. They wanted guarantees that Iraq would stop those groups threatening U.S. interests,' a senior Iraqi military source with knowledge of Pompeo's trip said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's surprise visit to Baghdad this month came after U.S. intelligence showed Iran-backed Shi'ite militias positioning rockets near bases housing U.S. forces, according to two Iraqi security sources. Pompeo is pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday

'They said if the U.S. were attacked on Iraqi soil, it would take action to defend itself without coordinating with Baghdad.'

The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the details of Pompeo's discussions. He had said after the trip: 'We don't want anyone interfering in their country (Iraq), certainly not by attacking another nation inside of Iraq.'

The second Iraqi security source said: 'Communications intercepted by the Americans showed some militia groups redeployed to take up suspicious positions, which the Americans considered provocations.'

He said the Iraqis were told that any threat from the groups 'would be dealt with directly by the Americans with force.'

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Tuesday told reporters that the Iraqi side had not observed 'movements that constitute a threat to any side. We clarified that to the Americans - the government is doing its duty to protect all parties.'

Tensions between Washington and Tehran intensified early this month as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration stepped up sanctions pressure by ending waivers for some countries to purchase Iranian oil - part of efforts to roll back the Islamic Republic's expanding regional clout.

It also said last week it was sending additional military forces to the Middle East.

Iraq would struggle to rein in the Iran-backed militias.

The paramilitaries are formally part of Iraq's security forces but operate semi-independently, backed by powerful Iran-allied politicians, and are expanding their economic power.

Spokesmen for two Iran-backed paramilitary groups said there were no plans to target U.S. forces, saying talk of threats was 'psychological warfare' by Washington.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran intensified early this month as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration stepped up sanctions pressure by ending waivers for some countries to purchase Iranian oil - part of efforts to roll back the Islamic Republic's expanding regional clout

The United States says Iran is the biggest threat to peace in the region. It wants to weaken the paramilitaries which have expanded their sway over land stretching to Syria and Lebanon, and for Iraq to decrease dependence on Iranian gas exports.

Iran sees Iraq as an important link to the world in the face of U.S. sanctions, and analysts say the positioning of pro-Iran forces and rockets indicates Tehran is prepared at least to threaten the United States with violence.

The Iraqi security source said U.S. officials discussed with Iraqi officials Iran-backed militia deployed along the Syrian border, where U.S. troops have helped fight Islamic State.

Pompeo said last week: 'We've urged the Iraqi government ... to get all of those forces under Iraqi central control.'

The groups say they already follow the orders of the Iraqi state and are not planning to target U.S. interests.

'American claims are baseless. It reminds us of the big lie of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,' said Laith al-Athari, a spokesman for the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, referring to the pretext for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the umbrella grouping of mostly Shi'ite militias, numbers around 150,000 men.

There are currently an estimated 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq, having peaked at 170,000 in the years following the invasion.

Analysts say the positioning of missiles by militias backed by Iran is likely meant as a symbolic threat to the United States, rather than a real plan to use them.

Professor Toby Dodge of the London School of Economics said Iran has in the past moved such weapons 'to slowly ratchet up the heat under America in Iraq when it feels America is seeking to threaten Iran's interests.'

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US orders all non-essential government staff to leave Iraq amid escalating tensions with Iran